In order to retain the former Clippers wing general, the Bucks finally decided to lay off a promising new forward?

Eric Nehm, a Milwaukee Bucks reporter for American media The Athletic, updated his social media account. He posted a video of the team’s open training match and wrote: The team’s new forward star Tyler Smith did not appear on the team’s training ground. He is expected to be waived before the deadline for the team’s roster this season. However, this roster change has not been further confirmed.

Smith was born in November 2004 and is not yet 21 years old. He is 206cm tall and weighs 102kg. He is a rising forward star selected by the Bucks with the 33rd overall pick in the second round of the 2024 NBA Draft. In the NBA regular season last season, Smith played a total of 23 times, averaging 5.3 minutes per game. He averaged 2.9 points, 1.1 rebounds, 0.2 assists, 0.1 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game. He also had 0.3 turnovers and 0.5 fouls. He shot 48% from the field, 43.3% from three-point range, and 75% from the free throw line. In the NBA Development League last season, Smith played a total of 25 times, averaging 25.1 minutes per game. He averaged 10.7 points, 6 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 0.7 steals, and 0.9 blocks per game. He also had 1.2 turnovers and 2.3 fouls. He shot 41.3% from the field, 32.7% from the three-point range, and 82.4% from the free throw line. Smith's performance last season was indeed average. Even in the NBA Development League, he was not able to perform well enough. His personal abilities did seem a bit mediocre.

In the NBA Summer League this summer, Smith played a total of 5 times, averaging 24.2 minutes per game. He averaged 9.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1 block per game, as well as 1.4 turnovers and 2.2 fouls. He shot 31.3% from the field, 20.7% from the three-point range, and 76.5% from the free throw line. In the preseason, Smith played a total of 2 times, averaging 10.3 minutes per game. He averaged 1.5 points, 0.5 rebounds, 0.5 assists, and 0.5 steals per game. He also had 0.5 turnovers and 2 fouls. He shot 14.3% from the field, 0% from three-point range, and 50% from the free throw line. Smith's performance during the summer league and preseason was unsatisfactory. His offensive efficiency was a mess, his outside shooting stability was seriously lacking, and his performance in all aspects lacked highlights. Maybe it was because his performance was so bad that the Bucks decided to cut him.

In fact, Smith's contract worth $1.9 million for the new season is fully guaranteed, so laying him off would not be a particularly wise choice under normal circumstances. What's more, Smith is also a young player with great potential, and he still has a lot of room for growth. However, the Bucks first signed Thanasis Antetokounmpo this summer, and they also chose to keep Amir Coffey, who previously held a training camp contract. The team had to cut one more person to keep the number of players on the roster with standard contracts at 15. In this case, the Bucks finally chose Smith, who performed poorly in the summer league and preseason. I don’t know if Smith will get a contract from another team and stay in the NBA after being waived by the Bucks.